Salman Rushdie To Visit Campus February 28

February 19, 2008

ST. LOUIS — Salman Rushdie, author of the prize-winning and controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, will visit Maryville University for a lecture and question-and-answer session with students, faculty and staff at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Maryville Auditorium. The public also is welcome. There is no cost for admission. Rushdie will be in St. Louis for his appearance that evening at the Maryville University St. Louis Speakers Series, held at Powell Symphony Hall.

The Satanic Verses, which tells the story of two Indian actors who fall to earth in Britain after their Air India jet explodes, lead to accusations of blasphemy against Islam and prompted the orthodox Iranian leadership to issue a fatwa, or death sentence, against Rushdie on February 14, 1989. Rushdie was forced into hiding under the protection of British authorities. The novel earned Rushdie the 1988 Whittbread Novel Award. Since that time, Rushdie has written several more books, including his latest, Shalimar the Clown.

Upcoming speakers in the 2007-08 Maryville University St. Louis Speakers Series will be Frank McCourt, author of the best-seller Angela’s Ashes, on March 18, 2008; and The Capitol Steps, nationally known political satirists, on April 22, 2008.. Like Rushdie, McCourt is scheduled to speak at Maryville.

Speakers Series tickets are sold by series subscription only. Tickets are not sold to individual lectures. For more information on ordering tickets, call the Powell Symphony Hall at (314) 286-4111 or click on www.stlouisspeakersseries.org.

Maryville University is a private institution offering approximately 50 undergraduate, seven master’s and two doctoral degree programs to 3,422 students. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Colleges, Maryville University prepares its students for successful and meaningful careers. Among Maryville’s most recent graduates, 94 percent are employed or attending graduate school. Approximately 15,000 alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.

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